ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a tetanus immunization poster at a medical clinic in encouraging patients to request immunization against tetanus with d2T5. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental study. SETTING: The Family Medicine Unit (F.M.U.) at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval (C.H.U.L.), a tertiary hospital in the region of Quebec City. PARTICIPANTS: All patients over 7 years of age at CHUL's FMU between February 22 and March 19, 1993. INTERVENTIONS: Poster promoting tetanus immunization displayed in waiting room during test weeks 2 and 4 and withdrawn during control weeks 1 and 3. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of patients vaccinated with d2T5. RESULTS: The proportion of patients vaccinated during the test weeks was the same as the proportion vaccinated during the control weeks. Week 1: 1/507 (0.20); Week 2: 1/394 (0.25); Week 3: 1/441 (0.23); Week 4: 1/486 (0.21). CONCLUSION: The presence of the posters in the waiting room had no impact on tetanus immunization at CHUL's FMU.
Subject(s)
Audiovisual Aids , Immunization Programs , Tetanus Toxoid , Tetanus/prevention & control , Vaccination , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Family Practice , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , QuebecABSTRACT
The Laboratory Information System (LIS) was designed as a "turn-key" system. The main functions are operated interactively on a mini-computer which gives the laboratory complete control over daily processing. Collection of results from automated analyzers is accomplished via a micro-computer/micro-processor network. Links are provided with a central main frame computer for immediate patient identification and historical data processing. LIS is designed to manage all the operations involved in laboratory activities. The system has 14 major functions: registration of test requests, production of specimen collection sheets and identification labels, confirmation of specimen collection, production of aliquot labels, workload inquiry, production of worksheets, manual entry of test results, automated entry of test results, results inquiry, preliminary report, final report, daily activities reports, statistical reports, billing. System security is provided along three directions: data entry validation, system access control, and memory protection. The main advantages of LIS are: reduced clerical work, better evaluation of workload, faster communication, improvement of information given to the clinician: adapted reference values, interpretation, comments, improved retrieval operations, faster billing.
